Upside Down: A Twist In An Untimely Fate
by Yunasdestiny
Summary: "This war between Zanarkand and Bevelle will end, and we'll be together again; you'll see." The story, you know well. Or do you? Fate is never kind, but a twisted fate? What is to be said of that? ONE SHOT! COMPLETE! Altered state/Alternate Universe And, no. There are no typos in here. Everything that is written, is supposed to be.


_**Upside Down**_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, just the story.

**A/N**: It's about time I wrote another one shot. This one is a familiar piece...with a twist. Hope you guys enjoy it!

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"So you're going, then?"

I reached for my staff, silently nodding at his heated question. Silence finally found us after about an hour or more of yelling and fighting; the two of us saying things we didn't mean, and would later regret – like now, for instance. But, really, was there any nice way to go about telling someone you love that you're about to do something dangerous and life threatening?

"I have to," I said out loud, finally finding my voice, "It's not something I can exactly ignore."

"To hell with them!" he spat out venomously, jumping up from the bed to stand in front of me, "I'm /not/ going to let you do this!"

I pushed past him, our shoulders colliding in heated anger. It seems we were never going to see eye to eye, and it was only making things that much more difficult. My footsteps seemed to carry angrily down the hall, with his just shadowing a half second behind. He would reach for something, /anything/ of mine to stop me, but it seemed he could only grasp air instead.

"You can't stop me from going. I /have/ to go; I have no choice!"

"We'll run away," he pleaded, jogging around the island counter top to thwart my efforts again, "Together. Somewhere they can't find us!"

The more he begged, the more I wanted to cry, biting back tears mix with frustration, sadness and the want to stay. He stood directly in front of me, pinning me between both of his arms, backing me into the counter. Our eyes found each other, saying what neither of us wanted or dare to. This is the reason he didn't want me to go, and...the very reason I was beginning to wish I had never chosen my path.

"Don't let this be how we say goodbye..."

My hand found it's way to his cheek, caressing it softly as I gave a painful smile. He sighed ruggedly, knowing my mind was still set on leaving; he had lost, and I had an unwanted victory on my conscious. We stood there for the longest time, letting silence overtake us once again, feeling his gloved hands grip the marble furiously as his jaw tensed against my palm.

His arms slid off the island, falling limply to his sides in defeat, lowering his head and closing his eyes. My heart dropped to my feet at his response. There was just no changing his mind and it hurt me more than anything to know that this was how it was to end. I slid past him, finally making my way to the door as he stood there.

Just as I was about to say something, a shrill whistle pierced the atmosphere from outside. I cringed inwardly at the sound, knowing my time, and his, was over.

"All summoners to the front lines!"

My hands rose to the knob, twisting it slowly and letting it fall open. People were clamoring about in the middle of the streets in a fit of panic, and as I looked on, I felt a sudden panic settle in my chest. Still, my head somehow found the ability to rise with pride, letting my right foot fall to the first step. One of the soldiers held out his hands, offering to help me up inside the machina that would take the summoners to the edge of Zanarkand. I smiled slightly, accepting his hand with generosity.

"Wait..."

My eyes widened in surprise as I felt someone grab my wrist gently. Turning slowly, I seen him standing there with pain plaguing every inch of him.

"I'm sorry. One more minute, please?" I asked the soldier, only for him to nod sympathetically.

We stepped back slightly, watching the people run around us to prepare for the war. He pulled me close, not caring about the turmoil we found ourselves in. I held on to him, a half cry, half laugh softly jarring me as he ran a gloved hand over my hair.

"Did you really think I'd let you go without telling you how much I love you?" he chuckled, wrapping his arms around my waist lightly.

"Those things I said..."

"Are forgotten. This war between Zanarkand and Bevelle will end, and we'll be together again; you'll see."

I nodded against his chest, allowing a single tear to fall. I wanted to believe it. Every single word he'd spoken...I wanted to believe it to be true. But my heart betrayed me. It wouldn't let me entertain the same false hope he did. Then again, maybe he wasn't either. Perhaps...it was just something that would make our parting easier.

"Miss, we've got to go, now. Bevelle's troops were spotted on Mount Gagazet. We desperately need the summoners to be ready."

"Wait for me?" I asked, lifting my eyes to his.

"I'd wait for a thousand years, if that's what it took to have you back in my arms."

For the first time all night, I genuinely smiled. This is how I hoped it would end; with us in each others arms. He escorted me back to the soldier, lifting me gently and safely into the machina, grabbing my hand as the solider gave the command to proceed. As it pulled further away, he broke out into a jog to keep up with me. But eventually, it became too much. Our fingertips held on for dear life, but it was just a matter of time before we lost that.

"I love you," he called out to me, "Never forget that, Yuna!"

"And I love you, Tidus," my voice cracking as our grip was lost, "Always..."

And it would be, as he put it, a thousand years before our final reunion would come to pass...


End file.
